Over the past year, HTC has been stuck at around 4% of the global mobile marketshare, struggling to keep up with the likes of Samsung and Apple who continue to boast the majority of phone sales. While at a recent shareholder meeting last week, HTC CEO Peter Chou, looked to rally his investors, stating that with a refocused effort in brand recognition across the globe and customer loyalty programs, HTC could get to as high as 15% marketshare in the near future.

We managed to maintain a 4-percent global smartphone market share last year and we are determined to do our best to expand the percentage to 10 to 15 percent in the future. Give us some time and we will stage a comeback. We will redouble our efforts this year to further enhance our brand recognition and loyalty around the world.

Chou also highlighted a breakthrough for the company, partnering with America’s top four networks to promote a single device, the HTC One. At the same meeting, another HTC executive said the company is working harder than ever to focus on new product innovations, as well as “upgrading their global marketing mechanism.”

As HTC continues to remain in a downward spiral in terms of revenue and sales, their fearless leader Peter Chou, isn’t done quite yet. Chou co-founded HTC back in 1997, turning absolutely nothing into a company that creates some of the world’s most desirable smartphones, although lately, the company has not been doing so hot. With profits dropping a reported 98% in previous quarters, Chou has taken much of the blame for the company’s recent woes. While dealing with this uphill battle, he is still optimistic and said in a recent interview that he won’t be quitting his role as CEO at HTC anytime soon.

I know you guys want to ask, will I quit. There are a lot of rumors that say I would quit, but I never said that. I’m not going to find another job.

When companies take large dives such as this and can’t seem to get back on the right track with a winning formula, it is not uncommon to see a changing of the guard. According to an interview with one of HTC’s board members, David Yoffie, not a single time has a discussion been made about removing Chou from power. “The board has a lot of confidence in Peter, and share price is not going to drive decisions on the future of the chief executive.”

With the new year already half way behind us, HTC has given off a lot of positive signs. They have unified their hardware design language, brought their top-selling flagship device to the major four U.S. carriers (still waiting on Verizon’s variant), and still have a decent amount of marketing presence across the globe. Sometimes that is hard to keep in perspective when a company like Samsung has a limitless amount of power in those important departments.

Nevertheless, we can expect to continue seeing Mr. Chou as HTC’s CEO for the time being.

Talk about HTC releasing a phone under the codename M7 has been growing by the day around these parts, so it seems like a release is imminent. Peter Chou, the CEO for HTC, was in attendance at an end-of-the-year event for HTC and it ended up being televised by many stations. At one point, Chou pulled out a device and proceeded to take a few pictures of the crowd. Could this be the M7?

This is far from conclusive evidence, but the device in Chou’s hands doesn’t look exactly like your standard One X. In a recent rumor, we got the information that there would be two colors of M7 on launch, white and black. Obviously Chou is sporting the white option and unfortunately didn’t let the cameras get a close up on what he was actually using.

Is the M7 appealing to you right now? Or do you think there are better options coming down the road worthy of your upgrade?

We all know that HTC has been in a slump for a few months, but analysts expected the launch of the DROID DNA and two Windows 8 phones to turn that slump around. Unfortunately, the sales numbers from the last quarter were not enough to impress anyone with the year-ending financial report. HTC ended up only pulling $1 billion net income out of $60 billion income overall in the last year.

The difference between 2011’s final numbers and 2012’s are quite large, but HTC CEO Peter Chou thinks that the darkest days are over. He said the company would be raising their marketing budget to compete with the likes of Samsung to make sure that 2013’s numbers go a little bit better.

It’s no secret that HTC has struggled mightily as a company since 2010, the year they claimed the Android crown. With Apple and Samsung dominating the smartphone world since, HTC has attempted to create innovative products that will turn things back around, but thus far have failed to do so. Even with well-received phones like the One X and DNA in 2012, something has been missing. According to HTC CEO Peter Chou, his company failed to market their products correctly.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Chou vowed to win consumers back by developing more innovative products, but also to do more on the marketing front. He admitted that his competitors (Samsung and Apple) were too strong and resourceful, “pouring lots of money into marketing.” While they may not have the kind of money that Samsung and Apple have to win the marketing battle, he also hopes that unique products will help make up the difference. Chou mentioned that one thing he learned from last year is to “act fast and be responsive to market changes.”

What worries me is the fact that HTC has been fairly innovative, and even tossed what seemed like a massive budget at their One Series ads. The One X blew every other phone out of the water when it was announced, with its best-in-class HD display, slim uni-body design, and powerful processor. The DNA also launched with a first for the industry – a 1080p display. Still, HTC has struggled, though their numbers did begin to climb again in Q3.

For the sake of the industry, I hope HTC can figure out a way to carve out a decent niche in the smartphone world again. The last thing we want to see is a decade-long battle between Samsung and Apple, with competitors dropping like flies. We love choices.